By: Gabrielle Cantor, Bicentennial Intern, Class of 2020, Intelligent Systems Engineering, Bloomington
The Centennial Time Capsule
The other portion of my research this semester focused on the centennial time capsule which was buried in 1922 at IUB to commemorate the construction of the first building at the Seminary Square (location of the original campus), which began in 1822.
Despite the campus moving in 1883 to its current location, the time capsule was buried at the spot which once served as the entrance to the Seminary building, the first IU building.
This, combined with a lack of records as to the exact location of the building has created an issue – we currently don’t know where the time capsule is. That’s right – we know very little about the time capsule buried at IU ninety-four years ago.
One of the challenges we have faced this semester was finding information about the centennial time capsule, and where it may be. The prevailing theory is that the time capsule is located underneath Kroger, potentially beneath the donut display.
However, before we can go digging around under the sprinkles, we needed to try to pinpoint exactly where the time capsule could be.
The best way to do that was to scour the IU Archives for maps, photographs, letters, and any other information which may help us to recreate the original IU campus and determine where each building, and more importantly its entrances, were located.
We are still working to create an accurate map of the former campus on a modern street grid, and are currently working with several other campus organizations to create the most accurate map. Our hope is to find the centennial time capsule in order to reveal its contents to the world as part of the bicentennial celebration in 2020.
From the search for the missing centennial time capsule to the beginnings of the creation of the bicentennial time capsule, this past semester as a Bicentennial Intern has been filled with trips to the Archives, being amazed by the past, and excited by the future.
As the project continues, it will provide opportunities for all members of the IU community to contribute to what will one day be opened by those wanting to understand what life was like at IU in 2020.
For part one of this blog, please visit: https://blogs.iu.edu/bicentennialblogs/2017/05/01/discovering-time-capsules/